The biennial award, established in 2000 by architect Herbert Spink FRIBA as a lasting memorial to his wife Annie, was conceived as an honour for the ‘advancement of architectural education’. It is open to individuals who have made a significant contribution to architectural education.

For many years, Dean Hawkes combined practice, teaching and research. He taught and undertook research at the Department of Architecture at Cambridge University between 1965 and 1995, and held the Chair of Architectural Design at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, between 1995 and 2002. He has been visiting professor at the Mackintosh School of Architecture (Glasgow School of Art), the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore and currently holds visiting professorships at the University of Huddersfield, and De Montfort University. He is Emeritus Professor of Architectural Design at Cardiff University, Emeritus Fellow at Darwin College, University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Professor Hawkes has also published numerous books and essays, and is a regular contributor to the Architects’ Journal and the Architectural Review.

The chair of the judging panel, Oliver Richards, RIBA Vice-President Education, said: 'On behalf of the judging panel, I would like to congratulate Professor Dean Hawkes for receiving this year’s RIBA Annie Spink Award. Professor Hawkes is one of the most pre-eminent thinkers in architectural education. He has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the environmental agenda from a time when this was not fashionable or mainstream thinking. He has always advocated and promoted a holistic approach to integrating environmental issues into the wider architectural debate and into studio teaching. High praise from his former students and the way that his work has formulated their thinking, make him a deserving winner of this prestigious award.'

Professor Dean Hawkes was born in 1938 and studied at the Regional College of Art, Manchester and Clare College, University of Cambridge. Dean Hawkes was in practice with Stephen Greenberg as Greenberg & Hawkes between 1983 and 1994. Projects were widely published and won a number of RIBA Architecture Awards. They were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, London and at the Venice Biennale. For many years, he combined practice, teaching and research. He taught and researched at the Department of Architecture at Cambridge University between 1965 and 1995. He held the Chair of Architectural Design at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, between 1995 and 2002. He currently holds visiting professorships at the Mackintosh School of Architecture (Glasgow School of Art), University of Huddersfield, and De Montfort University. He is Emeritus Professor of Architectural Design at Cardiff University, Emeritus Fellow at Darwin College, University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He has published numerous books and essays and is a regular contributor to the Architects’ Journal and the Architectural Review.